[Translator – Peptobismol]
Chapter 2 – Kidnapping (2)
Although I only played up to Chapter 1, the Vermont family in the story is impressive in many ways.
The head of the family, Count Drago Vermont, was executed long ago for researching dark magic, leaving the Countess to act as the head in his stead.
The eldest son, Aslan Vermont, continued researching dark magic and conducting human experints, only to be killed by the protagonist, who sliced him in half.
The eldest daughter, Irene Vermont, beca a necromancer researching resurrection magic and ended up imprisoned after being reported.
‘What a ssed-up family.’
From start to finish, they are all trash.
Is the Countess the only sane one? But judging by how her children turned out, that doesn’t seem to be the case either.
There are no normal people in this family.
So.
“Aslan! This sister has brought you the perfect materials for your experints! I saw the perfect candidates at the slave market and bought them right away!”
I should give up any hope that being cautious alone will allow to avoid death.
“Ah, ah…”
“What? Are you so happy?”
“No, these kids are…”
“Look! Despite being lowly, their mana responsiveness is excellent, right? Oh, maybe your eyes, lacking magic talent, can’t see that. Anyway, I bought them specially for you, who will soon be the head of the family. It wasn’t that expensive. Oh! The slave trader tried to overcharge , not even being able to see their mana responsiveness, so I cut off his arms and legs. I threw him your business card and told him to contact you if he had any complaints. He looked terrified and kept apologizing, so I doubt he’ll contact you, but just so you know.”
“…”
Irene patted my shoulder and smiled.
I realized two things.
First, Aslan’s sister and the eldest daughter, Irene Vermont, is crazy.
And second, Irene clearly hates her brother.
“Why that face? Aren’t they the kids with high mana responsiveness you’ve been searching for?”
“…”
The kids Irene brought were pushed towards .
A small girl with green hair, trembling like a frightened rabbit.
And a tall girl with silver hair, baring her teeth and growling.
Although I hadn’t seen them before, they felt strangely familiar.
[Skill, ‘Appraisal’ has been activated.]
[Charlotte]
[Age: 13]
[Affection: -5]
[She is wary of you.]
I can see that.
[Julia]
[Age: 14]
[Affection: -10]
[She is hostile towards you.]
I expected the ‘Appraisal’ skill to reveal sothing amazing, but it only tells the obvious.
Still, the ability to know their ages might co in handy.
At least I won’t make the mistake of offending a thousand-year-old loli elf.
‘So it is them.’
No wonder they felt familiar.
Charlotte and Julia.
Familiar nas.
These are the kids who will beco the protagonist’s companions in the future.
The protagonist, Yuri, cherishes them deeply, and they are the subjects of Aslan Vermont’s human experints.
So, isn’t it better not to bring them here in the first place? To that question, the answer ca like this:
Even if I didn’t abduct them, soone else did.
As if this was their destined fate…
“Where’s the other one?”
“The other one? What other one?”
“Wasn’t there supposed to be three of them, not just two?”
“Oh. How did you know? One escaped. I bought him for the highest price, but he got away. Tsk.”
“…”
Irene whispered to with a aningful smile.
The one who escaped must be the protagonist, Yuri.
A headache started to form.
“While escaping, he said, ‘Wait for ! I’ll definitely beco stronger and co to save you!’ Isn’t that cute? But by the ti he cos, it’ll be too late.”
“Did he really escape? You didn’t let him go?”
“Oh my. What do you take this sister for?”
Dudududu.
Grinding my teeth without realizing it, Irene smiled faintly, seemingly satisfied.
Those crazy eyes, impossible to read.
“See you next ti. I personally procured the materials for you, so make sure you have results by then. Neither I nor Lord Kali have much patience.”
“…”
Irene cheerfully waved and turned away, slamming the door behind her.
Leaving alone in the library with two terrified children.
“Nice to et you. My na is Aslan Vermont. Welco to the Vermont mansion…”
“S-Sob… Hic.”
“Don’t cry! If you cry, you might get hit!”
“But… Huuu.”
“Just hold on until Yuri cos!”
“Ah. This is giving a headache.”
Is this what they call being stuck between a rock and a hard place?
It’s driving crazy.
“Eat.”
“What is this?”
“What do you an? It’s food.”
“Is it for us?”
“…”
When I handed them the plate of food, both kids backed away warily, showing no sign of eating.
Does being treated kindly by a villainous-looking guy make them more suspicious?
With no other choice, I called a maid to replate the food in a dog bowl.
“Is this better?”
“…”
I threw the kids into the next room with the food and water and returned to the library alone.
Ignoring their murmurs of ‘I’m hungry…’ and ‘It might be poisoned,’ I needed ti to think.
‘What should I do with these kids?’
I’d love to throw them out imdiately.
Send them sowhere, anywhere outside this mansion.
Otherwise, the protagonist, Yuri, will co to punish eventually.
But the problem is Irene.
Would that crazy woman have kidnapped these kids purely for her brother?
Did she really let Yuri escape by accident?
Plus, there’s the subtle pressure she put on , expecting ‘results.’
Who knows what she’ll do if I don’t produce any research results.
So I can’t harm the kids in the next room.
Yet I have to conduct experints using them.
I’m stuck.
“Alright. Let’s escape.”
There’s no solution here.
If I start researching, I’m dood to die by the protagonist’s hand.
If I give up, the family will pressure .
It’s literally a death trap.
The only way out is to change it from a two-choice dilemma to a three-choice one: escape.
Change my na, hide my identity, and live quietly sowhere far away, farming alone.
[The evil god, ‘Kali,’ is watching you.]
“…!?”
Suddenly, my heart tightened, my vision narrowed, and cold sweat ran down my back.
I froze, forgetting to breathe, until the chilling sensation passed, and I could finally take a breath.
What was that?
It felt like a cold presence crept up behind and touched my neck.
After calming my wildly beating heart, I ca to a conclusion.
“Hah, hah… I’m really screwed.”
I’ve tangled with so seriously bad folks.
Why did I write a 5800-character review instead of summarizing it to 3000? What a cursed fate I’ve brought upon myself.
***
“Charlotte! No! We don’t know what’s in it…”
“But I’m hungry. Umm, um… Huh? It’s delicious?”
“Do you want to eat from a dog bowl?”
“It’s better than starving!”
“…”
Charlotte’s outburst, with her face covered in white cream, left Julia speechless.
Even though they were orphans with no education, they couldn’t be ignorant of the Vermont family’s notoriety.
A place rumored to echo with the screams of slaves daily, with countless bones buried in the mansion’s basent.
Of all places, they had to be sold here…
Without a clear mind, who knows what might happen? Despite crying from fear earlier, Charlotte was now scarfing down the cream pasta from the dog bowl.
“Julia, eat! It’s really good!”
“No. There could be poison or drugs. At least one of us should stay alert in case sothing happens.”
“I don’t think anything will happen. The guy who gave it to us seed nice.”
“What? That man? Are you out of your mind?”
Julia was stunned by Charlotte’s naive evaluation.
How could that man seem nice?
With his pale, almost translucent skin from never going outside, his greasy hair, and dark circles under his eyes.
And the floor of the library covered in red magic circles and goat heads.
‘Ugh. It’s creepy.’
He was clearly a dark magician researching forbidden magic.
Just thinking about it made Julia shiver.
How could he seem nice?
Julia worried about whether Charlotte could survive this harsh world alone.
‘Yuri isn’t here. So, I have to protect Charlotte…’
Yuri managed to escape dramatically.
Promising to return no matter how long it takes or what it takes.
Since Yuri said so, he will definitely co back eventually.
So just hold on.
Endure and wait, protecting Charlotte.
Julia was biting her lip, making such a resolve, when.
“Are you behaving?”
“…!”
The door burst open, and the sinister man entered.
Julia instinctively jumped in front of Charlotte.
A man radiating a literal black aura, embodying the word ‘sinister.’
How many people had he ground up to beco so ominous?
Each word he spoke seed to freeze the air around him.
“Did you enjoy your al?”
“…”
Why is he asking that? Did he put sothing in it?
Confronted with his creepy smile, Charlotte and Julia froze.
“Why is only one of you eating? Aren’t you hungry?”
“…None of your business.”
“You need to eat well. You need to be healthy and gain weight. Heh heh heh.”
“…!”
Facing his eerie eyes, the air turned cold.
What does he plan to do with their body after making them healthy?
“If you won’t eat, I have no choice. You’ll be punished.”
“Finally showing your true colors! Using punishnt as an excuse to do sothing terrible!?”
“Get up and run ten laps around the yard. Now.”
“What?”
Huh?
[TL/N: The gender of “Yuri” is kept ambiguous by the author, presumably for a twist in the future. We’ll be using “He/Him” until further context is revealed.]
[Translator – Peptobismol]
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